Your Next Breath (22 page)

“Closer than you think,” Catherine said. “We had over two hours’ delay after we overtook Montez.”

“Not good. Should we try to ambush Dorgal, Cameron?”

“No, not yet. Keep me informed. I’ll get back to you.” He hung up. “You heard him.” He started putting out the fire. “Let’s move.”

“Untie me,” Montez said. “Unless you want to serve me up for Dorgal. He’d love telling Santos how you did that for him.”

“No, we don’t want to make it easy for Dorgal.” Catherine unsheathed her knife and cut the vines binding him. “And we sure as hell don’t want to have Santos get his hands on you. Which he will do if we don’t move fast.”

“Let me go,” Montez said urgently. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll take care of myself.” He jumped to his feet. “Look, if you hadn’t caught me, I would have been all right. I spent months hiding in the rain forests before I went to Father Gabriel. I can do it again.”

“With Dorgal on the hunt for you?” Cameron asked. “Personally, I would just as soon let you take your chances. But Catherine is feeling protective, so you go with us.”

“No.” His jaw set. “She says that she doesn’t want me hurt. Let’s see if she’s speaking the truth. I won’t go with you. You’ll have to hurt me to make me do it.”

He meant it, Catherine realized with frustration. “You’re being a fool. Where could you hide?”

“I was heading for the Benedictine monastery at the far end of the rain forest. Father Gabriel made arrangements for me to stay there in case of an emergency. I won’t let the monks run the risk of hiding me now. I’ll find somewhere in the forest. But later, after Dorgal checks them out, I could make contact and have them find a safe place for me.”

“He’ll disappear, and you’ll never see him again,” Cameron said flatly. “We’ll have it to do all over again.”

But Montez wasn’t going to help her anyway, unless she used force. She could see it in his expression, the tautness of his jaw.

Save him.

Let him live another day.

Hope that he’d realize that they were fighting the same battle.

“Then we’ll do it again.” Catherine turned and headed for the trail. “Okay, we’ll let you go, Montez. But I want to do it right. We passed a stream a half mile to the east. You come with us. I want your footprints clearly heading east. Once we reach the stream, we can blur them and eventually lose the print. Then you take off south in the direction of the monastery. Cameron and I will make sure that you’re not followed.”

“How?”

“What do you care? You prefer hiding to confrontation.” She was striding down the trail. “If you change your mind, I’ll be glad to have your help.”

“Taunting isn’t going to make me do what you want,” he said quietly. “You have your own agenda, just like Santos.”

“No, but maybe this will help you to trust me.” She turned to face him as she reached the stream. “Cameron has hired a very talented man who is every bit as deadly as Dorgal. His name is Rafael Dario. We’ll have his men protect your mother and nephew from Santos. He’d protect you, too, if you’d allow it. But your family will definitely be protected. You can feel safe that whatever you do, nothing is going to happen to them.”

“I’m supposed to believe you?”

“Believe what you wish. I’ve told you what I’m going to do.”

“Why?”

“Perhaps because I’m not a monster like Delores Santos. Or perhaps because this isn’t over, and I’ll be back to ask you again to help us get Santos. Or maybe I’ll call you and ask you if you’ve changed your mind.” She scrawled her cell number on a card and gave it to him. “Or you can call me. I’ll have Dario pick you up.”

Montez’s lips tightened. “I don’t promise you anything.”

“But I’ve made you a promise, and I’ll keep it. Now get out of here.”

He stood there looking at her, his expression a myriad of conflicting emotions.

“Go!”

He started to turn. “Maybe you’re not like his Delores…”

“Thank you. I might remind you that I shot Delores Santos.”

“Oh, yes, but you don’t have to remind me of that.” He hesitated. “I have friends. I’ll know if you’re telling the truth about having Dario protect my family.”

“Good. Now get out of here before you ruin everything.”

He hesitated once more, staring at her, then at Cameron.

Then he was gone.

“You rolled the dice,” Cameron said. “Interesting. But I would have handled it differently.”

“Get Dario on the phone and tell him to protect Montez’s family.”

“Oh, I will. But I’ll also tell him to track down Montez near that monastery and keep an eye on him in case we need to talk to him again.”

“That was going to be my next request.” She slanted him a smile. “And I know you would have handled it differently. We have different skills and viewpoints. I believe him, and I think he has to come to us. But I also remember how patient you were with Erin when you were trying to recruit her. You aren’t totally ruthless.” She shrugged. “Besides, I still have that book he was so eager to get back.”

“Keeping the book was the only thing that we agreed on. And the circumstances with Erin were different. I’m still angry with Montez for hurting you. I think it’s going to take a long time for me to get over that.” He shrugged. “We shall see. You get a branch and erase the prints Montez just made going back down the trail. I’ll get busy blurring these footprints so well that we’ll make Dorgal dizzy, and he’ll end up back at San Esposito.”

ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL
ATLANTA, GEORGIA

“Progress?” Eve asked softly.

Caleb glanced up at Eve as she came to stand beside Jane’s bed. “Yes and no. I think by tomorrow I might ask you to have that Dr. Basle have another look at her and reevaluate his opinion about the graft.”

“Thank God.”

“Yeah.”

“So what’s the no?”

“He might decide to do it before I can get her ready for it.”

“Then we’ll not bring him in again yet. We’ll give her some more time.”

“I don’t have any more time.”

She inhaled sharply. “That’s not possible. All the doctors gave her seven to ten days. You’ve only been working with her for two days.”

“I told you that they couldn’t be sure of the time factor when the blood was concerned.”

“But only two days? It should be longer than that.”

“Yes.”

Her hand grasped his shoulder. “Talk to me. Don’t you sit there and give me one-word answers. Why is she going downhill?”

He twisted around to look at her. “Why?” His eyes were glowing fiercely in his taut face. “Because of
me.
Because that’s where she wants to go. Because she’s afraid of what I’m doing.”

“Then do something to change it.”

“Do you think I’m not trying? No one knows better than you how stubborn Jane can be. Well, she’s made up her mind, and she won’t let go of him.”

Her fingers dug into his shoulder. “Trevor?”

“Who else? I’ve been trying to offer substitutes. She loves her dog, her work as an artist, the beauty of the world around her. It’s all important to her, but it’s not enough.” He got to his feet. “I’m glad you’re here. I was going to come and get you anyway. It was time I brought in the big guns.”

“And that’s what I’m supposed to be?”

“You know you are. She loves you, she respects you, she’ll listen to you.”

“She’s in a coma. I wasn’t even sure that she was aware I was talking to her.”

“She’s aware. She was just shutting you out. She tried to do the same thing to me, but I wouldn’t let her. So she started to go down deeper.” He pushed her down into the chair he’d just vacated. “It’s over to you now. I brought her halfway back. You keep her on the right track and away from Trevor.”

“It sounds easy,” she said bitterly.

“Easier than letting her go.” His eyes were suddenly blazing. “Do you know how hard it is for me to leave her now? I want to do it all. But she won’t let me that close to her.” He turned on his heel. “So you do it, and I’ll reach out as much as I can. Get busy.”

Get busy.

It was an order she’d be glad to obey if she only knew how to start.

The only way to begin was to start in the beginning.

And hope that Caleb’s certainty that Jane could hear her was right.

She took Jane’s hand. “Caleb says that you can hear me and are just pretending and shutting me out. If you are, it’s because you’re confused. You wouldn’t deceive me. We’ve always been honest with each other. Or have we? You told me that it was fine that we were best friends, and you didn’t want to replace Bonnie as my daughter. Was it true? You’d been through so much growing up on the streets that I thought your defenses were too high for any other relationship. Hey, I was wounded and damaged, too. Maybe I accepted what you said because of that. I hope not. I was an adult, and you were a child. It was my job to give you whatever you needed.” She leaned back in the chair, her mind going back to those years of watching Jane grow and change and become a woman. “But how I loved you. I realized how special you were, and you filled Joe’s and my lives with joy. Can you feel that love, Jane? It’s still there and as powerful as ever. I love you so much that I’d let you go if I thought it was best for you. But it’s not best; you have so many things to do, so many loves to know. And even after all these years, we still have so much to learn about each other. You have to stay with me, and I’ll watch you and love you, and maybe we’ll come to understand why we were meant to be together. Okay?” She drew a shaky breath. “Are you saying yes? It’s very hard to know without your opening your eyes and smiling at me. I really wish you would do that.” Her hand tightened on Jane’s. “Not ready yet? Then let’s talk about Trevor. Caleb says that you want to be with him. Understandable. You’ve loved him since you were only seventeen. I remember you came back from Scotland and told me how dizzy he made you. You were young and not sure if it was anything deeper. We were sitting on the porch and looking out at the lake. And we talked about velvet nights, which was sex, then silver mornings, which might mean something deeper. I know you remember that night because we’ve talked about it since then, and it was important to you, too. But you realized something else as we talked about it, didn’t you? Remember, Jane?”

*   *   *

Silver mornings … Eve put her cup down on the railing and sat
down on the step beside Jane. “A relationship that changed the way you see everything?” She put her arm around Jane. “Fresh and clean and bright in a dark world. May you find that someday, Jane.”

“I already have them.” She smiled at Eve. “You give one to me every day. When I’m down, you bring me up. When I’m confused, you make everything clear. When I think there’s no love in the world, I remember the years you gave me.” She leaned her head contentedly back on Eve’s shoulder. “Silver mornings aren’t restricted to lovers. They can come from mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers, good friends … They can all change how you see your world, too.”

“Yes, they can.”

They sat in silence for a long time, gazing out at the lake in contentment. Finally, Eve sighed. “I suppose we should go in.”

Jane smiled. “Hell, let’s not go to bed. Let’s wait for the dawn and see if it comes up silver.”

*   *   *

“I’ll always remember your smile that night,” Eve said unsteadily. “It lit up your face, and it lit up my life. Because I knew that no matter what happened between you and Trevor, the love between us was going to go on. And when later you realized that Trevor was the silver morning that you wanted to fill your life, I rejoiced. When he was killed, I mourned.”

“But I think you forgot that there are other silver mornings, and now you have to remember that night on the porch. Let me help you remember. Open your eyes. Come back to me.”

Jane didn’t move.

She repeated unsteadily, “Dammit, you come back to me.”

*   *   *

Hold on, Eve. She’s so close to you. She’s almost there.

Caleb’s gaze was zeroed in on Jane’s face from where he stood outside the ICU.

He could
feel
the emotion Jane was experiencing. He’d been right to send Eve to do what he could not do. God, he’d wanted to be able to bring her back on his own.

But Jane was slipping back again.

“No!”

There was something in the background.

No,
someone
in the background.

Trevor, get the hell away from her. Let me take her. You’re the only one holding her back. I know you don’t want her to stay with you now. But you’re having trouble leaving her. Let her see you turn your back and walk away.

Struggle. Pain. Resignation.

Gone.

Caleb’s relief was mixed with a strange sadness.

I don’t think I could have done it, Trevor. You always were the white knight.

*   *   *

“Okay, Jane,” Eve moistened her lips. “That was only the first foray. Let’s try again. I’m not going to give up. I was just hurting and got a little frustrated when I couldn’t—”

“Shh,” Caleb was standing beside her. “You’ve won the battle. She’s with you. She’s just saying good-bye to him. She knows it’s final now.”

“She’s with me?” Eve’s gaze flew to meet his eyes. “Does that mean that—”

“It means I have a chance to make sure that Basle does his job. You can let go of her hand now. I’ll take over.”

“No…”

Both of their eyes flew to Jane’s face at the mere wisp of sound. Her eyes were open, and she was looking at Eve.

“Oh, my God,” Eve whispered. “You’re awake, baby.”

“You wouldn’t … let … me go. Right … But hurts. Sorry.” Her hand tightened on Eve’s. “Stay.”

“Of course, I’ll stay. But Caleb needs to—”

“No.”

“Yes,” Caleb said. “But I’ll draw up a chair to the other side of the bed. You can stay with her, Eve. But don’t let her talk any more.” He turned to leave. “I’ll go tell the head nurse that she’s no longer comatose, then go find Joe and give him the good news. Then I’ll be back.” He looked at Jane. “I’ll always be back. I know that you’re resenting me. I expected it.” His lips twisted. “I’ve always been the black knight, never the white knight like Trevor. But I’m the one who will keep you surviving in this wicked old world.”